Package opener



y F. 0H. LAWRENCE arm. 2,080,080

PACKAGE OPENER Filed April 10, 1935 T1. 9 -4- INVENTORS FRANK It'IWRENCE FRANK Z VALENTINE.

ATTORNEY;

within a package 7.

Patented May 11, 1937 PATENT i OFFICE:

, 2.080.080 menace ormn Frank H. Lawrence and I. Valentine,

, San Bruno, Calif. Application April 10, 1935, Serial No. 15,512 v Thisinvention relates to a package opener.

An object of this invention is to providea novel device normallyconcealed within a package which can be caused to penetrate a side ofthe package by means of exterior pressure exerted on the package andthen can be easily manipulated to open a side of the package and giveaccess to the content of the package. Another object of the inventionisto provide an opener, particularly for package of cigarettes which canbe rendered operative with ease to open a side or corner of the packageand allow the removal of cigarettes therefrom without unnecessarymutilation of the wrapping of the pack.

Another object of this invention is to provide a package opener which ishighly useful and simple in construction. Convenience of arrangement,lightness and comparative inexpense of manufacture are further objectswhich have been borne in mind in the production and'development of theinvention.

We are aware that some changes may be made in the general arrangementsand combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in thedetails of the construction thereof without departing from the scope ofthe present invention as set forth in the following specification, andas defined in the following claims; hence we do not limit our inventionto the exact details of the construction of the said parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawing The invention is clearlyillustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view of a package held in a hand in position to render theopener operaive.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a package of cigarettes, the sectionbeing taken-along a face of the opener.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a package showing the opener inoperation, the wrapper of the package being partly cut by the opener.

Figure 4 is a front view of a package of cigarettes, the front sidebeing partly broken away, with the opener in a modified arrangement, and

Figure 5 is a top plane view of a package of cigarettes, the top beingpartly broken away, the opener being shown in another modifiedarrangement.

Figure 6 is a fragmental perspective view of a box type package and theopener thereon.

In general our invention includes an opener 6,

and it has the usual sides formed by a flexible, or

In' this illustration the package 7 is shown as a package of cigarettes,

pliable wrapper of the usual type. The sides of the package include afront side8, a back side 9, a bottom end ll provided with the usualrevenue stamp, a top end l2, and narrower sides l3 and H. The cigarettesl6 are packed within this package in three rows.

The opener 8 in all the embodiments herein illustrated is of the samegeneral structure and it consists of a stiff member made of anycomparatively thin suitable material, such as sheetmetal, or stiffcardboard, or composition, such as bakelite, or hard rubber, or a narrowwire frame, or the like. The opener 6 is of such a. length that it isnormally concealed within the package. One end of the opener 6 conformsto the inside con- For'instance herein it forms a rectangular base 'llwith slightly rounded corners, which rests on the adjacent side andcorners of the package. The other end of the cpener'6 is formed withcurved edges 18 and I9 which taper to a piercing point 2| substantiallyon the diagonal relatively to the plane of the opener 6. The curved edgeI8 is a cuttingedge and it may be provided with a sharp edge ifnecessary. A finger piece 22 is formed on the curved edge l9 near to thepoint 2| which protrudes outside of the package after the point, 2| iscaused to penetrate the respective sideof the package, and then it maybe engaged by the nail of the user so as to exert a tangential force atsaid point thereby urging the cutting edge IS with a shearing movementacross the side of the package to rip and open the same.

The embodiment illustrated in Figures 1, 2, J

and 3 is particularly useful to so open the package of cigarettes as toprotect the cigarettes from dropping out of the package, or to preventloosenside 8. The width of the opener 6 is the same as the width of thepackage I so that the edges of its lower portion, to about half way ofits length, are alongside the front and rear sides 8 and 9. Thus thepackage I is practically divided into two compartments and thecigarettes l6 are packed on each side of said opener 6.

This type of package is opened by holding the.

package between the fingers as shown in Figure 1,

the thumb 28 on the bottom ll bearing on the end of the base 8, theindex and middle fingers 24 hearing on the top l2 spaced on oppositesides of the location of the piercing point 2|. Then by pressing thethumb 23 upwardly the pliable bottom II is dented at its center as at 26and the upwardpressure on the base 8 forces the opener 6 upwardly andcauses the piercing point 2| to penetrate through the wrapping of thepackage as at 21. After the point 2| is thus pushed to the outside ofthe package I then the user can insert a finger nail into the serrationor notch under the finger piece 22 and pull the opener 6 toward thefront side 8 thereby causing the curved cutting-edge |8 to shear acrossthe center line of the front 8, as shown in Figure 3. During thismovement the base 8 of the opener 6 acts as a sliding pivot bearingagainst the front and rear sides 8 and 9 of the package 1. Then the Iopener B can be removed and thrown away. The package 1 may be now openedapart around the cut in the middle. Inasmuch as the rear side 9 is uncutthe halves of the package can be kept together and moved apart only whena cigaretteis taken from the package.

In some instances it may be preferable to open the package at its sideand in such event the opener is placed along the side l4, as shown inFigure 4. The opener G is actuated as previously described, except thatthe bottom'8 is dented by the thumb 3 at the edge of the bottom oppositethe opener base I! to push the opener 6 upwardly. The cut in thisinstance will be along the edges of the side l4 so that cigarettes canbe rolled out sidewise, the side It here is used as a protecting flap.

In case it is desired to open the top, or part of the top of the packageI, the opener 6 is arrangedon the top of thecigarettes l6 as shown inFigure 5. The opener 8 in this instance is of the same length as thedistance between the sides l3 and I4 and the same width as the distancebetween the front and rear sides 8 and 9. The piercing point 2| maypoint in either direc tion, in this illustration the point 2| extendstoward the rear side 9. The opener 6 lies along and below the top l2.The actuation of the opener 8 is the same as heretofore described,except that the package 1 isdented by the thumb at the joining edge ofthe sides l2 and I3 so as to push the opener 6 toward the side M andthen the cutting edge I 8 of the. opener 6 can be pulled partly orwholly across the top of the rear side 9. In this instance the point 2|may be moved back and forth slightly or shaped with a wider double edgeto cut across the top of side M as well as part of the rear side l8 toprovide a comparatively small corner opening for the removal ofcigarettes.

In all the above illustrations, as well as in use in other kinds ofpackages the opener 6 is packed.

together with the cigarettes or other contents of the package I. Thepackage can be sealed and shipped without danger of opening because inorder to operate the opener 6 it is necessary that the pressure beexerted and the package be dented at a particular, limited area only. Instiffer packages a limited flexible area may be provided opposite thebase l8 oi the opener 6 for opening operation as above.

In Figure 6 we show an adaptation of our invention in connection withcardboard packages of the type used for fiour, or cereals and the like.In this form the opener 6 is arranged and held along and below the top28 of thepackage or box 29, and a portion 3| of the box 29 around a partof its top edge is made pliable so that a pushing force may be exertedat that area upon the base H! of the opener 6 until the piercing point2|. penetrated through the walls of the box 29 near the top edge, thenthe opener can be drawn around below the top edge as far as desired toallow the opening of part or whole of the top 28. It is to be noted thatthe piercing point 2| is toward the farthest corner of the top from thecutting edge l8 of the opener 6 so that it can run across the top of theend also. The pliable portion 3| is preferably protected by a stiffremovable covering 32 upon the box which can be torn off before theopener is actuated.

Havingthus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A device for opening the wrapping of a package, comprising a stiffelement within the package, an end of said element conforming to t einterior contour of the adjacent sides of the package, a curved piercingpoint formed at the other end of said element so as to pierce thewrapping when pressed against the wrapping, a cutting edge on one sideof said element and an engagement member formed on said element adjacentsaid piercing point and on the side opposite said cutting edge whereby aturning movement may be exerted upon the element to force said pointalong a side of the package to open said wrapping.

2. A device for opening a package, comprising a stiff element in thepackage, a portion of said element being so formed as to fit an adjacentarea of the package, a piercing point at an end of said element adaptedto penetrate through a side of the package and protrude from the packagewhen pressure is exerted on said element, an engagement member on saidelement located'at the portion of said element which penetrates saidpackage whereby a turning moment can be exerted on the element to movethe same across a side of the package, the edge of said element adjacentsaid point having a concave, curved cutting edge for cutting said sideof the package.

3. A device for opening a package, comprising, a fiat, stifi platefitting inside the package, a straight base on the plate adapted to reston one side of the package, a piercing point on the plate pointingtoward another side of the package and adapted to pierce the lastmentioned side of the package whenpressed against it, said base beingadapted to receive pressure on the plate only when the adjacent side ofthe package is flexed inwardly at the area opposite said base, a curvedcutting edge on said plate near said point and means at the piercingpoint whereby said plate maybe drawn across a side of the package withits cutting edge leading at an angle to the side on which said baserests.

4. The combination with a usual package of cigarettes, of a stiff memberarranged longitudinally in the package between and alongside thecigarettes, said member being substantially of the same length as thelength of the cigarettes, one end of said member being substantially ofthe same width as the width of the interior of the package, a curved,piercing element formed at the other end of said member extendedsubstantially in a diagonal direction relatively to said member andbeing'adapted to penetrate through the adjacent side and wrapping ofsaid package when the wide'end of said member is pressed inwardly of thepackage, and a finger piece on the stiff member near the piercingelement by means of which the stiff member maybe drawn edgewiselongitudinally across the adjacent side of the package to rip the sameopen;

5. The combination with a usual package of cigarettes, of a stiff memberarranged longitudinally in the package between and alongside thecigarettes, an end of said member conforming to the adjacent innercorner of the package, a piercing element on the other end of saidmember extended toward the opposite corner of the package and beingadapted to penetrate through the adjacent side of the package and saidcigarettes, and means on said-member whereby said member may be drawnedgewise across the adjacent side the package to longitudinally out saidside.

6. A package opener comprising a stiff element,

a sharp, piercing end thereon, a blunt end there-.

on, and an engagement member at said piercing end for manipulating theopener, one edge of said piercing end opposite said engagement memberbeing curved and sharpened to form a cutting edge, said blunt end beingadapted to coast with the inner sides of the package so as to form ashiftable, fulcrum for the cutting movement of clement adjacent saidpoint and opposite to said cutting edge adapted to be engaged by aperson so as to apply a diagonal force toward said cutting edge.

8. A package opener comprising a still element adapted to be in positionon the inside of a container alongside a wall of said container", an endof said element being reduced in width and curved said element, and afinger piece on said element adjacent said point and on the convex edgeof said curved end adapted to be engaged by a person so as to applya'diagonal force toward said concave edge.

combination a container made of stiff material,

9. In an opener oi the character described in an opener element disposedwithin the container,

, a piercing member on said opener element adapted to pierce a wall ofthe container, one of the stiff walls of said container having a pliableportion formed therein opposite an end of said opener element fortransmitting a force from the outside to the end of the opener elementand force said piercing member onto another wall of the container topierce and penetrate through the latter, and means for manipulating saidopener to cut open the adjacent walls of the container after one of saidcontainer walls is pierced.

10. The combination with a container having stiff walls, of an openermovably positioned along one of said walls, one end of said opener beingblunt, the other end being sharp, a flexible patch formed in the stifiwall adjacent the blunt end of the opener through which patch pushingforce can be applied from the outside to said blunt end of the openerfor forcing said sharp end to and through another stiff wall of saidcontainer.

11. The combination with a container having stifi walls, otan openermovably positioned along one of said walls, one end of said opener beingblunt, the other end being sharp, a flexible patch formed in the stiffwall adjacent the blunt and of the opener through which patch pushingforce can be applied from the outside to said blunt end of the openerfor forcing said sharp end to another stiff wall of said container, anda still protective cover forsaid patch being removably held on saidcontainer. I

12. The combination with a container having stiff walls, of an openermovably positioned along one of said walls, one end of said opener beingblunt, the other end beingsharp, a cutting edge at one edge of saidopener, a flexible patch formedin the still wall adjacent the bluntendoi. the opener through which patch pushing force can be appliedfrom'the outside to said blunt end of the opener without breakingthestiff wall for forcing-sald sharp end to another stifl wall of saidcontainer, a curved cutting edge on said opener near said sharp end, andmeans on the opener at said sharp end whereby said opener may be drawnacross an opp site still wall of the,

container with said cutting edge leading at an angle to the wall onwhich said patch is formed.

